My $300 tracker mount died at the worst possible moment

Was out at Cherry Springs State Park last Tuesday to shoot the Milky Way and my Star Adventurer mount just stopped mid-subframe, motors dead with no warning. I sat there in the dark for 20 minutes trying to reset it before giving up and doing unguided 10-second shots on a tripod, which honestly came out better than I expected. Has anyone else had a mount fail on them right at the best viewing window, and did you find a quick fix or just roll with it?

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avery_jackson15d ago

Motors dead with no warning" that is literally my nightmare. I've had my SWSA for like 3 years now and every time I power it up I'm half expecting it to just brick on me. Cherry Springs is a haul too, so getting all the way out there and having it die mid-subframe is brutal. Honestly the fact that you got salvageable 10 second shots out of it is impressive as hell, most people would've just packed up and gone home. I'd be checking those USB connections and the internal battery, sometimes those things just loose a solder joint and it's a cheap fix if you're brave enough to open it up.